Charitable Giving for the Current Month
As always, thank you for your generosity.
”We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves but to share with the larger community.”
Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month will be donated to our designated organization(s).
For 2022-23, so far we have designated the following organizations:
September – KidSafe CT and Power UP
October – Native American Cultural Programs
November – Manchester Senior, Adult, and Family Services
December – McKinney’s Men’s Shelter (Hartford), East Hartford Shelter, and Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville)
January – CT Domestic Worker Justice Campaign
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The UUS:E committee overseeing our community outreach efforts welcomes your comments and suggestions.
Checks made out to Unitarian Universalist Society: East will be treated as follows:
If the memo line:
– is blank or “pledge” is written, all will go toward our pledge.
– has “COM” or the name of the charity is on the memo line, all will go the charity.
– has “1/2 pledge, 1/2 COM,” it will be divided equally.
The committee overseeing our community outreach efforts welcomes your comments and suggestions.
Contact our church office at 860-646-5151 or uus[email protected] for more information on how you can contribute.
Community Outreach Ministry Significantly Increases Generosity
Since 2004, UUS:E has been donating 50% of our Sunday morning un-designated plate collection to local charitable organizations. This program has actually been in place for 10 years and grew out of the Social Justice
Committee’s initiative to support local groups in need and the Stewardship Committee’s desire to increase the spirit of generosity in the congregation.
Historically, our plate collections did not bring in much income—around $2,000 per year. Ten years ago, members of UUS:E attended a seminar on generosity as a spiritual practice, where the speaker advocated increasing charitable giving as a way for churches to express this aspect of spirituality. We began by donating the undesignated plate collection one Sunday a month but after a year increased it to 50%. We now take in about $20,000, giving away about $10,000 each year. The spirit of generosity at UUS:E is healthy and is validated by the appreciation of the recipients (see thank you letters on the bulletin board). A complete financial accounting is included in the Annual Report.
Our committee designates monthly recipients based on the following criteria: the organizations should be nonprofit, local, truly in need (our donation should make a difference), and fiscally responsible. Additionally, the values of the organizations selected are in alignment with the Social Justice goals of service, education, witness, advocacy, and/or transformation.
Members of the congregation are encouraged to suggest appropriate recipients to the committee.
